UNITED FINISHED OFF BY ROBBEN
Bayern go up a gear after Evra screamer
Gone in 60 seconds. That was Manchester United’s lead here l ast ni ght. Less t han 10 minutes later, they were gone from t he Champions League completely, f or close to 18 months at least.
To a club in seventh position in t he Premier League, l eaving europe’s greatest tournament is no longer just adieu.
It will be summer 2015 before United can pass this way again and who knows what the team, and bench, will look like by then?
Certainly, many of the playing personnel will have changed, but what of the manager?
Might this be David Moyes’ last Champions League match in charge of Manchester United? If so, he and his side at least made a stand.
The first half felt like a rerun of the match at old Trafford — Bayern dominant yet unconvincing, United on the back f oot, yet somehow still in the game and dangerous.
They even had the ball in the net through Antonio Valencia, although the offside decision was not a controversial one.
More eyebrow-raising was a foul by Philipp Lahm on Patrice evra that should have given United a free-kick from a dangerous area but was ignored.
To be honest, an exhaustive list of United’s opportunities would not take long to detail. There was an attack through Wayne Rooney in which a pass to Shinji Kagawa could have made it interesting, except Rooney appeared to consider involving his team-mate an unfathomable option and went alone to little effect. And that was it, pretty much.
Bayern had all the possession, working out at over 70 per cent as usual, but appeared i ntent on walking the ball into the net.
They did not have a shot on target in 45 minutes, which was truly remarkable considering the amount they saw of the ball.
Arjen Robben, in particular, must have been sick of it by half-time.
Moyes had plainly warned his t eam about t he Dutchman’s propensity for tumbling at the slightest contact, leading to some defensive styles that could be described as stand-offish.
Almost from Bayern’s first attack, Robben was all owed to r un diagonally across t he pitch untroubled for close to 40 yards with United in retreat and jockeying.
Robben laid the ball off to Franck Ribery, who overhit his cross to a communal shrug. Plenty more where that came from, the locals thought. They were mistaken.
The odd f l ash of brilliance belonged to Bayern, such as a through pass from Toni Kroos to Robben that deserved to be on display in a gallery, such was its beauty. Yet for long periods the Germans circled like sharks, but without teeth.
The best Bayern were going to do was give you a nasty suck.
Here was a team who had won the domestic league too easily this season, who had coasted through too many games. Bayern’s first real chance was a 25-yard shot from Ribery that passed wide of David de Gea’s near post.
Their next was a shot over the bar from Kroos and, by then, all of 40 minutes had expired.
In the 44th minute, Kagawa was dispossessed and Robben went on a brilliant jinking run, eschewing the opportunity to pass before firing a shot that flicked off Chris Smalling’s shoulder.
It was a greatly positive half from United’s point of view, save a booking for nemanja Vidic for what appeared to be little more than a robust aerial challenge with Mario Mandzukic.
Vidic won the ball but the Croat went down as if taken out with a set of knuckle- dusters and referee Jonas eriksson fell for it, as is his wont.
Yet for all their resilience, the downside for United was that without a goal, they were going out of the tournament just the same as if surrendering by 10.
The second half had to get off to a better start — and it did. From the opening, United forced two corners, although Manuel neuer was untroubled.
United scored, as they had to if they were to progress after drawing the first leg at home 1-1. And it was one of the goals of the Champion League season.
In the 57th minute, Valencia broke down the right and hit an outswinging cross, which Danny Welbeck knocked into the path of evra. The left-back was running on to the ball at pace and the moment it left his foot, it looked a goal.
In it went, hitting the underside of the crossbar and bouncing down theatrically, like the most dramatic shots do.
Unfortunately for the visitors, it only served to wind up Munich. Almost from the restart they were l evel. It was the simplest of responses and one that will leave Moyes furious — a straightforward cross from Ribery, a routine header from Mandzukic.
United then had their best chance of the night, a pass from Welbeck to Rooney, which the striker hit tamely from close range.
After the soft equaliser, the goal that put Bayern ahead was little better, Munich hardly needing to be at the top of their game to secure victory after Thomas Muller got in front of Vidic to turn in a low cross from Robben.
At that stage, the demand for United remained the same — a goal to go through. But that all changed on 76 minutes when Robben gave the scoreline an emphatic feel and underlined Munich’s overall superiority with his side’s third of the night.
It was hardly the most powerful shot but the deflection off the unfortunate Vidic beat de Gea more than the ferocity. United’s race was run.
now they will have time to reflect; too much time, one imagines.